


Stiletto stumble

by Iguessnotthendearie



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, just a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 20:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6208351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iguessnotthendearie/pseuds/Iguessnotthendearie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>@redbirdinwhitecage prompted on tumblr: My stiletto broke in front of your crush shop<br/>Just a bit of fluff;)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stiletto stumble

**Author's Note:**

> By the way my url is iforgetman on tumblr, not the same as on this site. I hope you enjoy;)

It wasn’t often that Belle French, the petite librarian, ventured out in anything but her useful and comfy flats. Every day on her break, she had the same routine. She would walk out of the library, past Mr. Gold’s shop, and to Granny’s Diner. Of course, she passed other shops along the way as well, but she really only paid attention to Mr. Gold’s. Although she could never work up enough courage to venture in, she loved to walk slowly past the glass windows to admire the antiques displayed at the front. But if she was lucky, she would also see what fascinated her about the shop the most- and that was Mr. Gold.

For a while it was rather sporadic whether he would be there at his normal post behind the counter or in the back of the shop. But recently she was happy to find that he was always at the front when she walked by at 12 o’clock sharp. There was the occasional moment where they would make eye contact, and both would quickly look down. After she was out of the view of the shop, she would giggle all the way to the diner. Mr. Gold never broke his stare with anyone; a town monster never lets his gaze off his prey, they say. Belle didn’t believe the rumors that Mr. Gold was hard as ice through and through- there had to be good in him. 

She had yet to meet him, though. She often saw him from afar, and at times he would walk into Granny’s. But he had never ventured into the library or her father’s shop, unless it was to collect rent, in which case she didn’t say anything. She admired hearing his smooth, Scottish voice, though, and the slight nod of his head that seemed to be directed at her as he left. And she quite admired how he looked, with his longer hair and thin but commanding frame.

So she held her head high as she wore a 5 inch pair of stilettos that Ruby had lent her. Although she could see well enough over the many items in his shop, she could get a much better view if she was a bit taller; and if she was being honest, she had always been a bit self-conscious being so much shorter than all the other adults. 

She had tried pacing around the library, practicing walking back and forth between the shelves, but she was very wobbly and felt like her ankles would collapse at any moment. After a while, she had to settle for a sort of duck walk, and supposed that she would look graceful enough. 

She made her way out the door at 11:58 and set out for the diner. She was doing ok- walking a bit slower than normal but overall thought she looked graceful enough, and tilted her head to the right as she passed Mr. Gold’s shop. She didn’t even have time to see him drop his gaze. Before she knew it she was on the floor, her tights ripped and knees and hands skinned. Looking back, she was surprised to already hear a bell ringing and the light sound of a cane and footsteps hurrying up behind her. How did he move so fast? 

He placed his cane against the wall and bent down next to her. “Are you alright, dearie?” He asked, his heavily accented voice causing her cheeks to turn even more red, if that was even possible. She began to stand up, and his hand went straight to her elbow. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you. I just,” she glanced behind her to where Ruby’s black heel lay abandoned and now broken. “I just tripped a bit.” She gave him a slightly embarrassed smile. “I’m the clumsiest person you’ll ever meet.”

He grinned, a little side-smile that reached his eyes, unlike his usual smirks towards the people of Storybrooke, and she got butterflies in her stomach at the sight of it. “I’m not surprised with those shoes. Honestly, I don’t know how women manage it, walking in those things.”

Belle laughed, and while still getting over the fact that she had just fallen flat on her face and that she was having a real conversation with the town’s most feared resident, said, “Neither do I, really. They’re actually not my shoes, if I’m being quite honest. They belong to a friend of mine.”

He glanced down at her knees again, and then to the broken shoe, and then grabbed his cane. “Why don’t you come inside? I’m sure I have a pair of normal shoes that will suit you.”

A million thoughts were running through her mind. Could she really trust him? Sure, she had looked at him through a window for quite some time, but this was the first time she had formally met him. But he seemed genuinely concerned about her wellbeing, and after all, she couldn’t walk barefoot the rest of the way to the diner. Working up some courage, she laced her arm through his with a quick “thank you Mr. Gold” and he led the way inside. 

The front windows didn’t show the half of it. The first thing she noticed was the large amount of books. Not like the ones in the library, but really, ancient, first edition books, all dusted and kept in excellent condition. “All these books,” she breathed, pausing for a moment of their way to the back of the shop. “They look like they’ve never been opened before!”

“Oh, I can assure you, they have. I read almost every book before putting it out on display. You can never learn to much.”

She twirled her head around to face him, arm still linked with his. “That’s what I’ve always told my father when he asks why I read so much! It’s what my mother had always told me…” she finished, trailing off. 

“A good motto to live by. Unfortunately not applied to many of the citizens of the this town, or throughout the world, I suppose.”

Belle nodded her head, and they continued to the back of the shop, her eyes admiring the other odd trinkets throughout the store. There were puppets and watches and small wooden sculptures and hundreds of other things that even her observant eye couldn’t take it in in its enormity. 

He pulled the curtain back and she finally broke away as he pointed her to the small cot. He limped (she supposed it was a limp, although he seemed to moved quicker than most people did even with two fully working legs) to his workbench, and took out a very new looking first-aid kit. It obviously had not been used before. He took out some antiseptic and band-aids and walked back over to where she was sitting. 

Propping his cane against the bed, he then held out his free hand. It took her moment to realize he was asking for her own scraped hands. She held them up, and he took them gently in his own, and she felt a physical shock at the lightness of his touch, yet she felt safe with in his long, thin fingers wrapped around her hand. He poured a bit of antiseptic on the wound, and she quickly got over how it stung when he pulled the wrapper off the bandage in one swift motion and placed it across her hand, along with two more. With that he moved on to the other hand, but then seemed to pause at her knees. “Doyoumind?” He blurted out rather quickly, and she had to suppress a giggle. The most powerful man in town was afraid to touch her knees!

“Not at all,” she replied, and he knelt down on his own knees to attend to her own. He touched her just as much as he had to: the occasional brush of his fingers as he applied the bandages, but it was enough for her to lose some of her senses, and she couldn’t stop staring at him as he sat back up again.

“There you go,” and his voice was even deeper than usual as he finished, “I’ll go grab you some shoes.” After shuffling around in his closet a bit he came out with a pair of slightly worn black flats. 

“Sorry they’re a bit old. They belonged to my ex wife, so they may be a bit big.” Without invitation this time he bent down to lift her ankle up slowly and slide the shoe on. It was bit big but otherwise ok. It would do its purpose, and he slid the other one on. 

“Thank you so much, Mr. Gold,” Belle said after clearing her throat. “I can return these to you tomorrow.”

“Oh, no need. I’m not very much partial to them. Besides, they suit you much better than they did her,” he shrugged, grinning that sly little smirk. “Although, I won't stop you from returning again tomorrow.” He trailed off slowly, and flipped his shoulder length hair out of his face with a slight flip of his head. “I can show you some of my books if you like.”

Belle smiled in a way that she hoped was a flirtatious but not childish, walked up to him, kissed him on the cheek, and said, “That would be lovely, thank you,” and walked out of the store, leaving Mr. Gold standing in the back, this single woman having reduced the town monster to a blushing statue.

Belle walked to the diner with Ruby’s heel swinging in her hands, a wide smile on her face the whole time. Now over her initial shock at her sudden bravery just moments ago, she now was looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.


End file.
